Egypt’s NBE, Banque Misr deactivate 25% yield certificates

Egypt’s two biggest state banks, the National Bank of Egypt (NBE) and Banque Misr have announced on Tuesday the suspension of issuing 25 percent high-yield certificates, which were introduced on January 4.

NBE has raised 290 billion Egyptian pounds ($960 million) since the certificates have launched, adding that about 60 percent of the customers used Al-Ahly Net, Al-Ahly Mobile, and the call centre to make the savings certificates with a 22.5 percent and 25 percent yields.

Banque Misr and NBE have started issuing the certificates few days before the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) depreciated the local currency on 11 January for the third time in a year.

In December, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the CBE has raised the interest rates by 3 percent (300 bps) for the fourth time since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war in February 2022.